Machine for lixiviating textile fabrics



June 10, 1924 C. H. ELLIOTT MACHINE FOR LIXIVIATING TEXTILE FABRICS 3Sheets-$heet l Filed Auz.

C. H. ELLIOTT MACHINE FOR LIXIVIATING TEXTILE FABRICS June 10 Fir d Aug.31. 1923 s Sheets-Sheet 2 w R m W Tram/E).

June 10, 192%- C. H. ELLIOTT MACHINE FOR LIXIVIATING TEXTILE FABRICSFiled Ana. 3]., 1923 I5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG: 3.

' such that a more satisfactory and rapid.

Patented dune M13, 1924.

UNETED STATE areas aranr I rte.

CHARLES LELLIOTT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 H. W. BUT-TERWORTH & SONS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR LIXIVIATING TEXTILE FABRICS.

Application filed August 31, 1923. Serial No. 660,313.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. ELLIOTT, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State ofPennsylvania, have invented an improvement "in Machines for LixiviatingTextile Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

In treating fabrics with alkaline sub stances, such as lye or causticsoda, as in mercerizing, the fabric becomes impregnated with the saidalkaline substance and must be subjected to a washing operation forremoving the same beforebeing subjected to finishing processes, and itis the object of my invention to provide a machine which is speciallydesigned for the purpose of thoroughly lixiviating or washing the fabricduring its travel through the machine in a continuous manner, theconstruction being elimination of the alkali from the fabric is assuredthan has been the general practice in machines of this characterheretofore in In machines of this'class, the fabric is carried throughthe machine in a vertical zigzag manner, being subjected at its lowerbends to washing fluids of graded purity, 'whereby it leaves the machineafter treatment to the fluid of greatest purity, said fabric beingsubjected to a washing operation in a heated atmosphere as it passesfrom one body of washing fluid to the next and at the same time to moreor less frictionfor atmosphere'within the chamber of the apparatus,whereby the strain due to this operation may be increased or decreased,according to the strength or delicacy of the fabric being treated.

My invention also has for an object the possible with machines =atingdevices in a more satisfactory manner andunder more uniform tension.

My object is also to provide the enclosed chamber (in which the washingtakes place in a heated atmosphere) with large hinged side doors whichexpose the interior suflicient ly to permit the examination of thefabric content andthe means for washing the same, said doors controllingopenings arranged considerably above the fluid level in the tank.

A- further object is the provision of bearings for the guide rollerswithin the lixiviating chamber having a composition which isself-lubricating, notwithstanding the presence of the alkaline solutionor atmosphere.

With the above and other objects in view,"

the nature of which will be more fully understood from the descriptionhereinafter, the invention consists in the novel construction of machinefor lixiviating textile fabrics, as hereinafter more fully described anddefined in the claims.

Referring to the drawings: Fig. l is a side elevation of a machine forremoving alkaline substances from fabrics and embodying' myimprovements; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same; Fig.3

is a vertical transverse section of the same, taken on line 33 of Fig.2; Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the same, taken on line 1-4of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a side View of one end of the adjustable stretchingand rubbing devices showing the means for driving the'same; Fig. 6 is ahorizontal section of a portion of the machine taken on line 66 of Fig.2; and Fig. 7 is a horizontal section showing a portion of the tensioncontrolling means and taken on line 77 of Fig. 2.

2 is a chamber having a cover 37 and a body having side walls 4, endwalls 4 and 4t and an inclined floor or bottom 3 which in clinesupwardlyfrom the end wall't and .105 specially constructed lower or tank portion'5. This tank portion comprises a box-like lit) terminating .in theopposite end wall 4 and so on through the series, until it reaches thelowermost compartment or well 12 into which extends the end wall 11 ofthe chamber 2 to provide a fluid seal. Similarly, the other end wall 13of the chamber 2 extends down into the uppermost or liquid receivingcompartment to form a fluid seal. By means of these fluid seals, thesteam or vapor Within the chamber 2 and space in the tank portion abovethe fluid compartments 12* is prevented from freely escaping and yetprovide passages through which the fabric 4 F may freely pass into andout of the said chamber. The washing fluid may be supplied to theuppermost compartment 12 by a suitable supply pipe such as let whenstarting the machine and the level desired is maintained in thelowermost compartment or well at 12 by employment of an overflow pipe 14preferably of a trap form. During the operation of the machine, theadditional water or washing fluid required to be sup- I plied to theuppermost compartment 12 is furnishedby the spray pipe 54 which spraysthe fresh water or fluid, directly. upon the fabric immediately beforepassing between the squeeze rolls 26 and 27 to be hereinafter referredto.

Referring more particularly to the construction of the transversedivision walls or dams 6, the same each consist of a unitary castinghaving a front plate 9 and a back plate 8 with a vertical passagebetween them, the front plate extending to a higher elevation than theback plate toguide the fluid flowing over the back plate into thepassage 10 and said passage having an opening at its bottom through thefront plate for the flow of the fluid into the next lower compartment 12at or near. its bottom so as to provide an upward current within thecompartment. As the floor 3 upon which the division walls 6 rest isinclined, the lower flanges 7 of the said walls are planed on an inclineto correspond, whereby the Walls or dams may stand in upright positions(Fig. 2).

Arranged within each of the washing compartments 12 is a transverseguide roller 15, the same having end journals which are received inbearings 16 extending through eer/ aa the side walls 4 (Fig. 6) i andprovided with self-lubricating bearing surfaces, the same composed of aWooden sleeve 16 saturated or thoroughly impregnated with an oillubricant. A hearing of this character is constantly presenting freshlubricating surfaces as it... wears and the unexposed body of thefibrous bearing material maintains its lubricating capacity. Thebearings 16 are removable from the outside of the machine, so that whennew sleeves 16 are to replace worn ones, this may readily be done.

Arranged in the upper portion of the chamber 2 are a plurality of guideand feed ing rollers 17, the same being preferably of larger diameterthan the rollers and located above the spaces intermediate of saidrollers, so that the fabric F to .be treated is guided over the rollers17 and under the rollers 15 and thereby caused to travel in a verticalzig-zag manner, the successive vertical web portions being preferablyparallel (Fig. 2). The fabric F in passing into the chamber 2 is guidedin contact with a spiral roller 50 journaled above the well 12 andthence passes under the submerged roller 15 of the lowermost compartment12, thence upward over the first feeding and guide roller17, thencedownward around the submerged guide roller 15 in the next compartment 12and so on, passing alternately about the rollers 17 and 15. Afterleaving the last of the guide rollers in the uppermost compartment. 12,the fabric is guided upward through the passage 14 between the wall 13of chamber 2 and the upward extension of the tank wall 4*, over a guide26. to and between the squeeze rolls 26 and 27 by which the fluidcontained in the fabric is largely squeezed out and mixed with the spraywater from spray pipe 54?, returned to the uppermost compartment, as wll be readily understood by reference to Fig. 2. The lower squeeze roll26 is journaled in stationary bearings and is revolved by a large L gearwheel 25, driven in turn by a pinion and shaft 22, the latter having abelt wheel "23 by which it may be rotated. The upper squeeze roller 27is carried in adjustable bearings suitablyguided and respectivelyadjusted by levers 28 respectively hinged at one of their ends andhaving the other of their ends respectively connected to rods leadingdown to separately hinged levers 32,

weighted at 33. The levers 28 are each provided with an adjusting screw29 connecting with the adjustable bearings 30. Tn this manner, thesqueeze roller 27 may have the pressure on each end separately ad usted.

To raise the squeeze roller 27, I provide a li transverse shaft 34having cams 35 (one for each lever 28) and an operating handle When theparts are in the positions shown in Fig. 1, the full pressure is appliedto the roller 27 and the position of the levers 28 are adapted to besimultaneously acted upon by the cams 35 when the operating handle 36 isthrown. Bythis means, any desired weight maybe applied to the roller 27and each end may operate independently of the other, but when raisingthe roller for threading in the web or for other reasons, the two endsof the roller may be lifted simultaneously.

The chamber 2 is. provided with a suitable cover 37 of any suitableconstruction to seal it at the top for preventing free entrance of theatmosphere and avoiding unrestricted escape of the steam and heatedvapors. The cover may be of wood with metal reinforcements and may beclamped in closed position by cross bars 38 and screw clamps 39 hingedto the top of the chamber and Further considering the feeding and guide.

rollers 17, these are also journaled in bearings 18 havingself-lubricating sleeves as in the case of the rollers 15, but in thiscase one of the journals of each of the rollers 17 is extended throughits bearing and is driven from a shaftf20 by mitre gears 19 (Figs. 2 and3)., the said shaft-20 being itself driven from shaft 22 by bevel gears21.

The interior of the chamber 2 is provided with a series of perforatedpipes constituting scouring, spray-or jet pipes 54 arranged transverselyfor the purpose of spraying hot steam or vapors against the surface ofthe fabric being treated and are so positioned that they act upon thefabric on its upward movement after leaving one of the washingcompartments 12". Some of said spray or jet pipes 54 act upon onesurface of the fabric and the others act upon the other surface, so thatboth surfaces of the fabric are treated in the same manner. These'jetpipes 54 are connected to a manifold of any suitable construction towhich the heated vapors or steam is supplied by a.

pipe 54 having a control valve 54 (Fig. 1). Arranged above the jet pipes54, are a series 7 of rubbing bars 55, one to e'achjet 54, and

adapted to act on the opposite side of the fabric being treated; and itisdesirable that the bars. 55 are so positioned that the fabric rubsgently against them to loosen the alkaline material which may be presentThese cut so that one is right-handed an bars 55 may be fixedlypositioned, if so desired, but I prefer that they shall have slightadjustment capacity, as shown at 55*, for example, (comprising a slotand clamping screw), so as to vary the extent or degree of rubbingaction of said bars upon the fabric. Any other suitable means ofadjustment may be employed. The essential feature is to provide arelative adjustment between the jet or spray pipes 54 and the rubbingbars 55 with respect to a common vertical plane, the said pipes and barspreferably in contact with opposite surfaces of 1 the fabric at alltimes, whereby the jet pipes also act as rubbing bars. In every casewhere a jet pipe is employed, the associated so T rubbing bar is incontact with the opposite surface of the fabric to that being treated bythe jets of steam or vapor from the jet f pipes.

As a preliminary to the properwashing and scouring of the fabric,constituting the lixiviating operation, the fabric should be stretchedto proper width so that in passing about the guide and feeding rollers,it is in a smooth condition, and to this end I provide certainimprovements for this, purpose. The spiral roller 50 before referred tomay consist of a roller having one-half of its length formed with aright-hand s iral thread and the other half with a leftandspiral-thread, the spirals so arranged thatsome of the washing fluid.Two spiral rolls 56, between which the fabric passes, are journaled inan adjustable frame comprising two heads 57 connected by heavy bolts orstuds 57, said frame'journaledjn the side walls of the chamber 2 foradjustment about a transverse axis passing through theplane of thefabric when traveling between the rollers 15 and 17 unacted. upon by thespiral rolls. The frame and spiral rolls may be adjusted so that thespiral rolls will not touch the fabric, but when adjusting otherwise,the respective rolls may be simultaneously moved into contact withopposite surfaces of the fabric to applymore or less friction andtransverse stretching of the same, less pressure 'and fri ction beingemployed with delicate fabrics than where the fabricis strong. Thespiral rolls are each made with one-half their length ri hthanded and.the other half left-handmT in respect to thespiral grooves and ribs(Figs. Sand 4), the ribs or teeth -being preferably V or angular inshape. The adjacent ends of the two rolls 56 have their s irals the jare geared 'together by gears 58 and are rotated by a rotating shaft 61(concentric with the axis of the adjustable frame 57) and gear 60thereon meshing with gear 59 on one of the spiral rolls 56 (Fig. 5). The

shaft 61 is provided with a sprocket wheel 62 which is driven by a chaindrive 64, itself driven from a sprocket wheel 63 on the first guideroller 17 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4). Any other manner of driving the rolls 56may be employed, if so desired. The frames 57 may be adjusted about itsaxis for adjusting the relative positions of the spiral rolls and heldin adjusted positions by means 'of the clamping screws 73 and slots 72(Fig. 5). It will now be understood that when the device is adjusted, asin Figs. 2 and 5, no material action by the spiral rolls 56 is had uponthe fabric as there is space between.

them for the free upward travel of the same. If, however, the frames 57are adjusted clockwise in Fig. 2, then the uppermostspiral roll 56 ispressed against one side-of the fabric and the other or lowermost spiralroll is pressed against the other side of the fabric, with the resultthat it is caused to take a more or less sinuous course in contact withsaid rolls and will be spread or stretched transversely from selvage toselvage. In this way, when the fabric reaches the first roller17, it isalready smoothed out an'd'in perfect condition for the lixiviating orwashing process which is to follow. The extent of the friction to beapplied'is determined by the rotary adjustment of the frames 57 and theextent of adjustment is governed by the character of the fabric, frailor lace-like fabrics requiring less friction than goods of heavier andmore rigid texture. Experience will guide the operator in charge in suchadjustment. While these stretching spiral rolls 56 are not intended toproduce the rubbing or scouring action required, nevertheless, sincethey act upon the fabric after it has passed through the fluid in thewell compartment 12, they do perform a preliminary scrap- I ing off ofalkaline material during the stretching operation; and moreover, as theyrotate at a faster surface speed than that of the fabric, their rubbingaction is far more pronounced than that of the individual bars 55 andconsequently, said spiral rolls perform the dual function of stretchingand rubbing.

While access may be had to the chamber 2 by removing the cover 37therefrom, neverth'eless, the presence of the rollers 17 prevent a manfrom reaching the inner working parts of the chamber and of the tankbase 5 and additional means are necessary to provide for such access. Tothis end, each side of the chambers 2 is provided with large man-holesbetween the level of the rollers 17 and spray pipes 54: and said holesneeaeva are normally closed by... large cover plates starting up themachine or for temporary repairs or cleaning when required; and quickaccess to the interior may be readily had even while the machine is inoperation it necessary for any reason.

A steam pipe 70 having a control valve 71 (Fig. 2) may be employed toprovide steam to the well 12 to heat the fluid in the first compartment15, so that the fabric may be heated and saturated with hot fluid beforeentering the chamber 2 and subjection to the spiral rolls 56, it beingthus rendered more pliable and responsive to treatments to follow.

While the fabric may be delivered to the lixiviating machine. from anysource required, it is a customary practice to mercerize the fabricwhile in the custody of a tentering machine and from such machine delivering it to the lixiviating machine. This is best accomplished by aninterposed feeding means shown at the left of Figs. 1 and 2 and whichwill now be described. 41 are upright guide frames having vertical guideslots 42 in which journal boxes 43 slide, said boxes indirectly carryinga guide roller through the medium of a shaft 53 upon which the roller is'ournaled with freedom of rotation. The s aft 53 is journaled in theboxes so as to have rotation therein and and is also provided near eachend with pinions 52 which mesh with racks 51 secured to the uprightguides adjacent to the slots 42 thereof (Figs. 2 and 7). In this manner,the roller 4A may be free to rotate at any speed and the supporting rod53 is caused to remain horizontal at all times in its upward anddownward movement. The weight of the roller 44 and associated parts iscounter-weighted to the desired extent by the weights 4:8 and chains 47,which latter are guided over groo'ved wheel 49 and have their endsconnected to the boxes Near the upper end of the frame'tl is journaled aguide roller. 45' and opposite to it is a second roller 46 acting bothas a guide and feed roller, it being positively rotated by the sprocketchain 64 which has heretofore been referred toas the means for rotatingthe spiral rolls 56. The fabric F passes over roller 45, thence underthe compensating or tension roller 4A, thence upward over feed roller 46and downward to spiral roller 1.

lid

anors 3 50. In this manner, the feed roller 46 feeds the fabric with aspeed commensurate with the needs of the lixiviating machine proper.While the press rolls 26 and 27 provide a pull on the fabric, it is notdesirable to rely upon them alone for feeding the fabric through thechamber 2 and hence the rollers 17 are employed also as feed rollers;and similarly, it is not desirable for these rollers 17 to pull thefabric into the machine against material resistance and hence thefeeding roller 46 with the compensating tension roller 44 are provided,the former insuring the delivery of the fabric and the latter insuring auniform tension. It sometimes happens that the fabric varies in itstendency'to stretch according to the density of its weave or to vary itslength due to shrinkage variations arising from the mercerizing; and anyof these variations occurring along the length of the fabric arecompensated for by the takeup or tension roller.

In the use of a machine of this character, the object is primarily toscour and wash out from the mercerized fabric all of the causticalkaline matters and secondarily to provide means for the recovery ofthe alkaline.

solution in more or less concentrated condition, whereby it is suitablefor immediate use as a mercerizing medium without the necessity ofregeneration, this latter being made possible by reason of the fact thatthe concentrated solution is obtained without being affected by carbonicacid of the atmosphere. While the chamber 2 is open to the atmospherethrough the pipes 410,- as aforesaid, nevertheless, I am enabled tointroduce steam in such quantities that an outward flow of vapors aremaintained through said pipes and thereby an inflow of air revented.

e cencentrated alkaline solution overflowing from the well 12 or througha trap may be pumped away for use in the mercerizing machine in anyconvenient manner, though this feature does not form any part of myinvention.

In respect to the washing action of the fluid in the compartmentslQ, itis pointed out that the less concentrated solution flowing from thebottom outlet of the passage 10 meets the fabric passing under theroller 15 and tends to produce an efl'ective washing upon the risingfabric, and similarly, the descending fabric meets a rising fluidcurrent (to the overflow) and hence again insures an efiective washing;all of which permits the steaming and rubbing to be followed to beespecially effective in displacing the alkaline substance from. thefabric.

llt will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and usefulconstruction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated asdesirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and describedthe preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice togive satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I donot restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible ofmodification in various particulars without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as newand desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In a machine for lixiviating textilefabric, a chamber adapted to provide a heated atmosphere having itslower art in box-like form divided into a series ot transversetrough-like compartments separated by a plurality of transverse wallsbolted to the bottom and sidesof the box-like structure, the upper endsof said transverse division walls being successively at higherelevations and each formed by a double transverse wall with a fluidpassage between them, said passage opening in one direction at thebottom into the next lower compartment and opening at the top in theopposite direction into the next higher compartment whereby the fluidfrom the latter compartment overflows the adjacent wall and downwardthrough the passage to the lower part of the next lower compartment andso on through the series of compartments, submerged guide rollersarranged in said compartments, guide rollers arranged in the upperportion of the enclosed chamber whereby fabric is guided alternatelyaround the submerged rollers and upper guide rolls, means for subjectingthe fabric intermediate of said rolls to a scouring action, means toadmit washing fluid to the uppermost compartment, and a water seal inthe lowermost compartment for permitting the entrance of the fabricwhile maintaining the compartment in a substantially closed condition.

2. The invention according to claim 1, wherein the bearings for thesubmerged rollers are formed of wood saturated permanently throughoutwith a lubricant.

3. The invention according to claim 1,

wherein further the rear wall of the chain ber dips into the uppermostcompartment to form a water seal and in which further the said end ofthe machine is provided with a pair of press rolls levers andcounterweights for pressing the upper roller downward upon the lowerroller, an adjustable screw connection between the levers and thebearings of the upper press roll, whereby it may be adjusted relativelyto the levers, and manually operable cam means for simultaneouslylifting the levers for separating the press rolls when inserting thefabric between them. i

4. The invention according to claim 1, wherein further, the transversedivision rec.

walls between the several compartments are each formed of a unitarycasting having front and back plates with a vertical passage betweenthem, the front plate extending to a higher level than the back plateand providing an opening at its bottom for the flow of the fluid fromthe space between the front and back plates, and means along the bottomof the back plate and the ends of both plates for securing the said wallin the chamber and forming a liguid tight joint along the bottom andends the walls.

5. Tn a machine for lixiviating textile fabric, a chamber having at thebottom a plurality of transverse formed by transverse division wallsextending from side to side of the chamber and providing overflowportions atsuccessive higher elevations whereby the Washing fluid fed tothe highest chamber will overflow into the next and so on throughout theseries of compartments, combined with a transverse submerged guide rollin each of the compartments, corresponding guide rolls arrangedrin theupper part ofthe chamber, said guide rolls guiding the textile fabric ina zigzag manner through the chamber, and the washing fluids in thesuccessive compartments, said fabric entering at'the lowermostcompartment and leaving at the uppermost one, means for scouring thefabric during its travel through the chamber above the washingcompartments, and means within the chamber for applying friction to theopposite surfaces of the fabric and stretching the same laterally fromselvage to selvage said means comprising an adjustable frame having atransverse axis and having journaled' therein two parallel spirallygrooved rolls each having their spirals from the center cut in a righthand manner in one direction and a left, hand manner in the otherdirection, gearing tocause said spiral rolls to revolve in oppositedirections, power means to rotate the said spiral rolls, and means foradjusting the frame together with the spiral rolls about its axis forputting more or less frictional contact upon the fabric vto suit theguide rolls in the upper part of the chamher in one direction and thetwo spiral rolls respectively in opposite direction to each cther,andone of said spiral rolls rotating in the same direction the guiderolls,

compartments nceaove 8. The invention according to claim 5, whereinfurther, there is" provided perforated pipes for subjecting the fabricon one side while passing through the chamber in a zigzag manner to ascouring fluid medium and also transverse rubbing bars between whichbars and perforated pipes the fabric 'spiral rolls respectively inopposite direc-' tions to each other and whereby one of said spiralrolls rotates in the same direction as the guide rolls, and whereinfurther, the power for operating the spiral rollsis transmitted througha shaft and gearing arranged concentrically with the axis of the framecarrying the spiral rolls and geared to one of said spiral rolls. 7

10. In a machine for lixiviating textile fabric, a chamber having at thebottom a plurality of transverse compartments formed by transversedivision walls extending from side to side of the chamber and providingoverflow portions at successive higher elevations whereby the washingfluid fed to the highest chamber willoverflow into the next and so onthroughout the series of compartments, combined with a transversesubmerged guide roll in each of the compartments, corresponding guiderolls arranged in the upper part of the chamber, said guide rollsguiding. the textile fabric in a zigzag manner through the chamber andthe washing fluids in the successive compartments, said fabric enteringat the'lowermost compartment and leaving atthe uppermost one, means forscouring the fabric during its travel through the chamber above thewashing compartments comprising perforated pipes for subjecting thefabric while passing through the chamber in a zigzag manner to ascouring fluid medium and also transverse rubbing bars between whichbars and perforated pipes the fabric passes, and in which further,similar perforated scouring pipes and rubbing bars are arranged atintervals in the chamber said bars and pipes arranged for operatingsimilarly upon both sides of the textile fabric during its zigzagpassage through the chamber.

11, The invention according to claim 10 wherein further there isprovided within the chamber a pair of oppositely rotating spiral rollsfor acting upon opposite faces of the fabric to stretch the samepreliminary to the action by the scouring means, and ad justable meansfor varying the extent of lllli 3E feeding and guide rolls in thechamberand is fed for insuring a preliminary stretching. thereof in atransverse direction before it action of the spiral rolls upon thefabric.

12. The invention according to claim 10, wherein further, there isprovided within the chamber a pair of oppositely rotating spiral rollsfor acting upon opposite faces of the fabric to stretch the samepreliminary to the action by the scouring means, said spiral rollsprovided with adjustable means for varying the extent of their actionupon the fabric, and wherein further, there is arranged upon the outsideof the machine an additional roll having its outer surface formed withspiral grooves of a right hand construction from the center to one endand of a left hand construction from the center to the other end andover which the fabric entersthe washing fluid. f

l3. The invention according to claim 10, wherein further, means are,provided to cause a relative adjustment between the scouring pipes forprojecting the fiuid and e scouring requirements of I mally closed bydoors hinged at their lower parts and combined with clamping means forholding the doors in closed relation, said man-holes arranged at a'levelbelow the above the guide rolls in the transverse fluid compartments.

15. In a machine for lixiviating textile ipes and bars may be adafabric, a chamber provided at its lower part the stretching means underuniform tension which comprises two guide rolls in fixed bearings, anadjustable guide roll movable in vertically adjustable bearings and fordrawing the fabric downward between the fixedly positioned guide rolls,counter-balancing means forthe'movable guide roll to regulate the amountof tension put upon the fabric, a pinion at each end of the movableguide roll and vertical racks with which the pinions mesh to insure themovable roll moving to equal extents atopposite ends so that itshall atall times operate in parallel relation to the aforesaid guide rolls fromwhich it receives and to which it delivers the fabric. Y

16. The invention'accordin to claim 15, whereinfurther one of the rolers supported in fixed bearings is positively driven to feed thefabric,and the tension'roll is free to rotate on a transverse shaftjournaled in the adjustable bearings and having the pinions secured nearits ends, whereby said shaft always remains horizontal while beingraised or lowered.

In testimony of which invention, I here-" unto set my hand.

1 CHARLES 'H. ELLIOT

